Ryan Gosling will premiere his directorial debut, ‘Lost River,’ at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

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When the selection for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival was announced Thursday morning, it became clear the event will offer the two things it’s now known for: serious films on their way to the nation’s art houses, and enough star wattage to power the south of France.

Some 49 films were chosen for the 67th competition from a pool of more than 1,800 submissions, the festival’s directors said at a press conference held in a Paris movie theater. The festival runs from May 14 to May 25.

The lineup includes popular festival directors like David Cronenberg, whose “Maps to the Stars” satirizes the downfall of former child actors, and Mike Leigh, going to the festival with his biopic of British artist J.M.W. Turner, called “Mr. Turner.”Atom Egoyan, Ken Loach and Jean-Luc Godard are also taking films to the festival.

The Cannes movies also feature A-list actors like Nicole Kidman, playing one of her red-carpet forbearers, Princess Grace Kelly, in “Grace of Monaco.” Other stars represented in the selection include Robert Pattinson, Channing Tatum and Ryan Gosling – as a director.

Mr. Gosling’s directing debut, “Lost River,” features “Mad Men” star Christina Hendricks as a single mother who discovers a hidden town kept underwater. Mr. Gosling is not the only actor stepping behind the camera at the festival; Tommy Lee Jones’s film “The Homesman,” a pioneer western starring Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep, will premiere at Cannes.

A coveted slot at Cannes offers one of the film industry’s greatest launching pads for undiscovered independent films or Hollywood awards hopefuls. Last year, the coming-of-age romance “Blue Is the Warmest Color” won the festival’s most prestigious prize, the Palme d’Or, and went on to a well-received limited U.S. theatrical run.

This year, two movies initially thought to be in contention for last year’s Academy Awards will premiere at the festival. “Grace of Monaco,” which is being distributed in the U.S. by Oscar kingpin Harvey Weinstein, is the festival’s opening film after its postponement in 2013.

Another much-anticipated contender, “Foxcatcher,” is director Bennett Miller’s first movie since “Moneyball” in 2011. Mark Ruffalo stars as Dave Schultz, an Olympic wrestler who befriends a schizophrenic du Pont heir, played by Steve Carrell from “The Office.” The movie, based on a true story, released a trailer last year but was bumped to 2014. Still, the preview hinted at just how far the role is from Mr. Carell’s “Office” antics.

“Foxcatcher” will be among the 18 films in contention for this year’s Palme d’Or. Director Jane Campion, who won the prize in 1993 for “The Piano,” will preside over the competition.

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